


Swiping Right

by S_Horne



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Powers, Getting Together, Kid Fic, M/M, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker is Tony Stark's Biological Child, Steve Rogers Is a Mess, Steve Rogers is Awkward, Tinder, meet cute, single parent tony stark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2020-12-02
Packaged: 2021-03-10 03:48:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27844009
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/S_Horne/pseuds/S_Horne
Summary: “Ouch. Definitely a hard pass for that one?”Steve startled at the sudden comment from the row of chairs behind him and turned around. He’d been passing the time in the airport lounge by swiping through Tinder and had gotten lost in his own world. It was almost jarring to be pulled away from the screen of hot men and back into reality where the PA was screeching and there was noise everywhere.Adjusting to the difference, Steve frowned. Wait, he knew that face. Oh, shit… he knew that face.“No, no, it’s fine,” the man said before Steve could get out anything other than an embarrassed sort of yelp. Waving his hand through the air, the stranger smiled ruefully. “I get it. It’s the beard, isn’t it? True be told, it was a weird winter choice that year and I knew it would come back to hurt me.”Steve didn’t know what to say. He knew it must have shown on his face and could feel himself flushing, panicked and embarrassed all at once. What were the odds of swiping left on someone literally sat behind him?
Relationships: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark
Comments: 83
Kudos: 697





	Swiping Right

**Author's Note:**

> Yes, this is romanticized and yes, there will no doubt be some issues in the future, but.... sequel???

“ _Ouch_. Definitely a hard pass for that one?”

Steve startled at the sudden comment from the row of chairs behind him and turned around. He’d been passing the time in the airport lounge by swiping through _Tinder_ and had gotten lost in his own world. It was almost jarring to be pulled away from the screen of hot men and back into reality where the PA was screeching and there was noise everywhere.

Adjusting to the difference, Steve frowned. Wait, he knew that face. Oh, _shit…_ he knew that face.

“No, no, it’s fine,” the man said before Steve could get out anything other than an embarrassed sort of yelp. Waving his hand through the air, the stranger smiled ruefully. “I get it. It’s the beard, isn’t it? True be told, it was a weird winter choice that year and I knew it would come back to hurt me.”

Steve didn’t know what to say. He knew it must have shown on his face and could feel himself flushing, panicked and embarrassed all at once. What were the odds of swiping left on someone literally sat behind him?

“No,” Steve said quickly, choking on the word, “no, it’s…” Trailing off, he bit his lip until it started to sting, knowing he couldn’t end that sentence how he was going to. Because what sort of an asshole would he have been if he said out _loud_ the thought that had gone through his head?

The man, _Tony_ , Steve remembered from the stupid, troublesome app, had looked beautiful in all of his dating profile pictures. There was no denying that. His eyes had sparkled with a mischief that had drawn Steve in even through a screen, his mouth twisted into a cheeky grin in every single photo. The pictures had shown Tony with a number of hairstyles; bleach blonde to close cropped, thick waves to streaks of grey. The first photo had had the hairstyle that Tony was sporting as Steve stared at him in horror; lighter than the others with a definite curl to it as it grew a little longer than the other photos. 

There was a slight beard, too. Not like the one Tony had had in the last picture that Steve had seen – the one that Steve assumed was the bad-choice winter beard – but a small, neatly trimmed goatee sort of thing. Steve would never have gone for it himself, but it suited the other man.

As beautiful as Tony was and as witty as his bio had been, Steve had still swiped a firm left.

It’s just that… God, Steve felt like an asshole, but as well as there being a cheeky grin in every photo, there was also a kid. A _child._ A human, breathing miniature adult that could have been a clone of Tony, so it – shit, _he_ – was obviously Tony’s.

Steve didn’t do kids. He never had. They were confusing and loud and Steve always felt on edge when he spoke to them, like either they or their parents were judging him. They were also so small. Steve towered above his friends on any regular day, so he felt like a giant when he was next to small children.

Not to mention how breakable they were. In his first week at his previous job, Steve had broken three mugs, one desk chair, and fourteen pens. Strength was both a blessing and a curse and, when entrusted with a very tiny child’s life, it was most definitely the latter.

It wasn’t in his plans for a child to be in his life at any point, if Steve was truly honest, so he wasn’t about to date a man with a kid. 

A kid that was sleeping peacefully on Tony’s lap.

Oh.

Steve hadn’t even noticed the little boy until then, but when he dropped his gaze for some reason, the boy was suddenly all he could see. There was a soft toy stuffed in his armpit, his arms lying limp by his sides. He only had one shoe on, tiny toes in a tiny sock that was such a bright colour. There was no need for kids to be so _bright_ , surely. What was wrong with whites and greys? Blue, if Steve was feeling frisky, but he didn’t think he’d ever worn something quite that garish shade of orange.

Tony softened his smile when Steve looked back at him, flushed red from head to toe, and gave a small shrug, obviously mindful of the boy sleeping on his chest. 

“It’s okay. It happens. Not the first time I’ve been swiped on, I’m sure, but I must say I’ve never seen it happen right in front of my face before.” He sounded resigned, but ultimately fond. It was a very strange mix and, even if Tony didn’t look overly crushed by the rejection, Steve felt something stir in his chest. 

He really was a dick.

No one should ever feel that way about a child. About _their_ child, who was quite probably the most important thing in their entire world. It was as if Tony was resigned to his fate to be alone or left at the bottom of the dating pile.

No one should have ever been made to feel as if they would be rejected or discriminated purely because of who was the most special thing in their life. 

Steve couldn’t shake the guilt and he locked his phone on Caleb’s shirtless abs and reached out. 

“Tony, I –”

“Don’t,” Tony waved his hand again, face twisted into a causal brush off. “It’s fine. I’ve got Peter and you’ve got – no, look, it’s not a problem. I can’t be mad. Though,” he pointed at Steve and blew out a breath, “you’ve got _magnificent_ abs, by the way. Just – wow. Nice job there. I’m sure there’ll be an army waiting to swipe right on you, plenty of men without babies to care for. Just thought I’d tell you how incredible the abs are. Even if nothing came from it, I’m really glad I got to see those. It more than made up for everything else.”

Before Steve could say anything else, a boarding call rang out through the airport lounge. 

“Oh,” Tony said, quirking a smile and shifting his son – _Peter,_ Tony had said, _–_ onto one leg so he could lean down and grab a duffle from the floor. “Nice to meet you, Captain.”

“Oh, God. Please don’t call me that.” Steve hadn’t needed further proof that Tony had actually seen his profile, but that would have been the convincer. The last-minute decision to include his college football photo had clearly been a mistake, if Tony’s wink was anything to go by. Halfway out of his chair, Steve hovered a bit awkwardly. “Can I help you with that? I can grab a bag.”

“I’ve got it, thanks. Well practiced in juggling, believe it or not.” Tony’s smile grew into a bright grin.

Just as he finished talking, Peter shifted and his stuffed toy made a nosedive to the floor. Swooping without thought, Steve grabbed it before it could land in what Steve seriously hoped was a dried coffee stain and held it out to Tony.

With a nod, Tony took it. “Looks like those football skills stuck with you, Cap. Thanks.” He offered a quick salute with the toy before he hefted Peter up a little higher and stuck the paw of the toy in his mouth. From between gritted teeth, he spoke, voice light. “Safe travels, Cap.”

Still feeling a little uneasy, Steve watched him go. It was only when man and child had rounded a corner than he realised he was still standing like an idiot. Looking round him quickly, Steve dropped back into his seat and reached for his phone again. When it was unlocked, Caleb’s abs were still right there on the screen in ultra-definition.

They truly were something else, but the moment had passed. With a sigh, Steve locked his phone once more and shoved it into his bag, reaching instead for a book.

Once he was in the air, he told himself, he’d have forgotten all about it.

//

  
  
  


“Well, well, well. Look at this.”

Steve looked up from the fire evacuation instructions he’d been reading in a bit of a panic to see Tony standing in the aisle, arms tight around his son who was lying fast asleep against his shoulder. Almost immediately, he felt himself tense up. The mortification was still very much on his mind and he had never felt so awkward. “Oh. Hi. Fancy seeing you here.”

Actually, it was a surprise. He’d thought that Tony and his son had already boarded a different plane… oh. That probably hadn’t been true and more of a gentle lie on Tony’s part to save Steve’s face from permanently resembling a tomato. 

“Our seats are right next to each other,” Tony said, expertly transferring the boy to the cramped row of chairs in front of Steve without waking him. Peter, Steve remembered. “Almost like fate.”

Steve rolled his eyes, but he could feel his cheeks flaming and knew that Tony would be able to see it. “I don’t think the divine powers have anything to do with airlines.”

Son despotised, Tony straightened up and frowned at Steve. “That’s literally what fate means. Divine powers control everything. They don’t pick and choose.”

Oh, God. Despite knowing it was all in vain, Steve ducked his head and willed his blush away. 

After a moment he felt Tony’s eyes leave him and, looking discreetly through his lashes, he saw Tony settle down into his own seat. It was the one by the window in the row directly in front of Steve’s. Brilliant.

Steve had never loved flying, but he had a feeling that he was going to enjoy the journey ahead of him even less than usual. 

“Do you actually read those?”

“What?”

“The instructions,” Tony said, nodding over his seat to Steve’s lap. “Do you actually read them?”

Steve frowned up at Tony. Of course he did. “I need to know what happens if we go down in a fiery wreck.”

Tony’s eyebrows hit his hairline. “Could you maybe not mention a fiery wreck in front of my kid? The last thing I need are more nightmares.”

Oh. Whoops. Steve truly was shit with kids. He felt his blush return with a vengeance and mumbled an apology, fingers tightening on the laminated paper in his lap. How many times could he embarrass himself in front of one man?

He really didn’t want to think about it. 

//

“Hi!”

_Jesus_. Steve jumped half a mile in the air and turned away from the window to see Peter peeking through the seats. 

“Hi,” he returned cautiously. He tried to look discreetly over the chairs to see if Tony was awake, but Peter caught him.

“Daddy’s sleeping, but I woke up. I’m kinda bored, but I know he needs to sleep ‘cause I was up all last night. I had a bad dream ‘bout monsters.”

“Oh.” Steve wasn’t sure what he was meant to do. All he knew was that he couldn’t ignore the boy. “That wasn’t nice.”

“No,” Peter pouted.

He looked desperately sad and, for some reason, Steve didn’t want him to be. “Have you ever been on a plane before?” 

Peter blinked up at Steve before he nodded. 

Steve gasped, a little exaggeratedly. Possibly a little too exaggeratedly. “You have? Where have you been?”

“Tlanta.”

Steve frowned. He wasn’t hot on geography, but he was pretty sure he knew most big cities and countries. “Where?”

“Tlanta. With the fishes. Like this one.” To punctuate his point, Peter thrust his stuffed fish towards Steve, his chubby fingers tight on its fins. It was a cute thing, really, all bright fluff and sparkling plastic eyes, even if it didn’t help Steve narrow down where Peter was talking about. 

“Hello, Mr. Fish,” Steve said seriously and reached out to take a fin between his fingertips, shaking it up and down. 

“Philip,” Peter said and Steve’s face split into a grin.

“Philip the Fish?” he asked with a laugh, “very pleased to meet you.”

“Daddy says he looks like my eyes.”

Steve’s smile softened. “So he does. That means he was meant to be your friend, if he looks like you. Fits perfectly.”

The smile Peter gave him was brilliant, full of childlike wonder and innocence. “You been on planes before?”

Nodding, Steve let go of Philip’s fin and settled back in his seat. “I do. My job means that I have to go to lots of places.”

Peter actually looked interested. “Do you get toys?”

When Steve frowned, Peter shook Philip. “Daddy says having different ‘lections makes planes fun. He gets me toys from all the times he goes on a plane.”

The logic and the explanation were a little flawed, but Steve thought he understood. Part of him wanted to pry, wanted to learn everything he could about Tony. Though it had only been a few hours since they’d met, Steve couldn’t get the man off his mind. 

But, asking a toddler for info wasn’t exactly the right way to go about starting a relationship.

Not that Steve _wanted_ to start a relationship with Tony. 

“I don’t have a collection,” Steve said. It wasn’t a bad idea, though, actually. He took photos of everywhere he went and kept small things like his plane tickets, but collecting souvenirs could be interesting. “What do you think I should collect?”

Peter’s little forehead furrowed as he thought the question over, obviously very seriously. “‘Atues.”

It was Steve’s turn to frown. “Atues?”

“Yeah,” Peter said, head nodding. “The little ones. Of places. That’s what Pep has in her office. Daddy always buys her one.”

Steve wasn’t any less confused. Before he could say anything for clarification, another voice joined the conversation.

“Statues. Figurines. We’re working on our pronunciation, but it’s a long process when you don’t have all your teeth.”

Steve looked up to see Tony peering over the back of his seat, a pillow crease on his left cheek and eyes a little hazy with sleep.

“Well,” Steve said, clearing his throat and looking at Peter, willing the blush that he knew was rising to go away. God, Tony really was beautiful. “Statues, I can do.”

Peter beamed, clapping his hands together around Philip. “Yay! Mornin’, Daddy.”

“Morning, trouble. Did you get any sleep at all?” Tony ran a hand over Peter’s hair as an unfairly attractive smile spread over his face. 

“A ton! But then I woke up again and Philip was bored.”

Steve chuckled at Tony’s discrete eyeroll. 

“Naughty Philip. Are you hungry?”

When Peter nodded, Tony stood up, his back hunched to avoid the plane’s low ceiling. “Daddy needs the toilet and then I’ll sort you out with a little breakfast snack. Are you coming?”

“Nuh uh,” Peter said, his attention on his toy again. “I’ma stay here.”

“Alright. Don’t move, okay? Sit right there until Daddy comes back.”

Steve didn’t know why he was still staring, but he found he couldn’t look away. The two of them were so alike it was as if Tony had defied science and had a child all on his own. There was something special about seeing them together, about watching those brown eyes that had seduced Steve throughout a phone screen with a look of pure sex so soft and warm. 

“You wanna read?”

Steve was startled out of his thoughts when Peter’s voice called out to him. When Steve looked down from Tony’s retreating figure, he could only see part of Peter’s face, his little nose and mouth squished between his seat and Tony’s.

“I could read,” Steve said carefully. “Have you got a book?”

“Uh huh. ‘S in my bag. Pep gave it to me before we came on the plane.”

“That was kind of her.”

Peter nodded as best he could between the seats, faux leather squeaking. “She’s the best. So, read me?”

“Um. I don’t –” Steve leant up and peered over the seat, only to find both chairs on both of Peter’s sides empty. 

“Sit here!” Peter seemed to reach the same conclusion and he grinned wider, patting the seat by the aisle. “Please?”

Steve’s resolve crumbled. He wasn’t good with children, he told himself again and again. “Oh, go on then. Get your book out.”

  
  
  


“Room for a little one?”

Peter’s head snapped up at Tony’s voice. “Hi, Daddy! Did you get food?”

Tony huffed a laugh. “Bottomless pit, this one. Is that all I’m good for?”

“Definitely a bonus,” Steve said with a smile of his own. 

“Cheeky.” Tony held up two cups of steaming coffee. “Guess you don’t want this, then?”

“Aren’t they meant to bring carts around?”

Tony shrugged. “It’s not even 6am. Take a look around; anyone without a child is still asleep. They won’t be round for a while.”

That was a good point. Steve smiled and held out his right hand for the offered drink, well away from Peter. 

“Thanks, Tony. Do I owe you–”

“Keep that terror entertained,” Tony said, pulling a face at Peter to make him giggle, “and I’ll buy you all the coffee you could ever want.”

“Shush, Daddy,” Peter said, tapping at the book still in Steve’s hand. “Steve’s reading and he’s real good at the voices.”

“Sorry, Pete, but remember your manners, please,” Tony said with an eyebrow raised in a way that Steve really shouldn’t have found hot.

Peter’s eyes widened. “Sorry, Daddy. I am, honest. Sorry, Steve. Can you carry on, please?”

“Let’s let your dad sit down, hey?” Steve turned his legs into the aisle so that there was just enough room for Tony to squeeze past to the window seat. As soon as he was seated, Peter practically started vibrating in his seat. 

“Please, Steve,” he begged, “love this story. Finish? Please?”

It was worrying, really, how hard it was to say no to Peter so soon after they’d met.

//

Steve had lost track of the plot almost as soon as the TV show had started. There were bright colours and talking cartoon animals and Steve had never watched anything like it before. 

A snort from his left drew his attention from the small screen and he turned to see Tony’s face full of amusement.

“First time?”

“Do you get this?” Steve whispered with a frown, hand gesturing to the screen. “Does _he_ get this?”

Tony grinned. “Oh, yeah. Him, I mean. All it does is take me back to my youth – makes me feel like I’m on an acid trip.”

The dry comment made Steve laugh. “I just don’t get it. How do I not get it?”

“There’s not really anything to get,” Tony said with a shrug, locking his tablet and setting it on his knee. “And you don’t have to whisper. Once he starts watching, there’s not much that can distract him, really.”

Steve ducked his head, looking down to where Peter was curled up at his side, tiny legs folded on the seat and his little fingers clutching at Steve’s sleeve. His whole focus was, as Tony had said, on the colourful TV show. 

“He’s a good kid.”

“He’s a pest,” Tony shot back, but the smile on his face and the way that he reached out to run his hand through Peter’s hair told a different story. “He likes you.”

Steve felt his cheeks flush. He didn’t like kids, his brain shouted again, he didn’t understand them. “Don’t kids like everyone?”

Tony laughed loudly. “Oh, man. Not a regular around squirts, I take it?”

“Not exactly,” Steve admitted, blush darkening. “I have a very distant cousin with kids, but I was in the army when they were little. Now, I just take them paintballing and buy the oldest one beer.” 

Tony snorted and turned in his seat so that he was facing Steve fully. “Please don’t take my kid paintballing. He’d snap like a twig.”

The implication of Steve taking Peter anywhere made him choke on nothing and he averted his gaze.

“I never asked where you’re headed,” Tony said suddenly. “Business or pleasure?”

“Business,” Steve answered, deciding that meeting Tony’s intense gaze was a lesser evil than staring at a dancing, green duck wearing dungarees. “Well, going home from business. I’m an architect and my firm wanted to survey some land. You?”

“Same. Heading home from a work trip.” When Steve looked down at Peter with a frown, Tony grinned. “I’m the boss. Comes with the territory.”

“Oh, yeah?”

“Mm. I leave most of the boring stuff to the board and a few directors, but there’s still lots of fiddly bits that I’m needed for once in a while.”

“Wow. And here I thought lead architect was impressive. Best take that out of my _Tinder_ bio if I’m up against CEOs, huh? Can’t compete too much with that.”

His self-deprecating laugh fell short when Tony frowned. “I think lead architect is impressive. It made me swipe right.”

And… oh. They were going to talk about it.

God, Steve still felt like such an asshole. He just wasn’t good with kids, but that wasn’t Tony’s fault. Tony seemed amazing, seemed like someone that Steve would be proud to be with. And Peter was – well. It was entirely possible that Peter had the ability to change Steve’s mind about kids.

“Tony–”

“That was a good one!”

It took Steve a moment to remember where he was and what was happening, but it was Tony who moved first to speak back to Peter. 

“It looked like it!” Tony smiled down at Peter who was looking up at him. “Want another one?”

Instead of answering, Peter turned to Steve. “Didja like it? There’s of loads of ‘em. Rhodey got me a whole DVD with them on!”

Ignoring Tony who was silently laughing at his predicament, Steve forced a smile onto his face. It spread quite naturally. “It was great, Peter. Thanks for sharing it with me.”

“Welcome!” Peter chirped happily. Turning back to Tony, Peter shook his head. “No more, thank you. I wanna colour.”

Tony jumped into action, reaching into his bag to pull out a book and a set of crayons and unclipping the tray from the seat in front of Peter’s chair. Next to him, Peter started to bounce in his seat.

“You wanna colour, Steve? It’s fun. You can have the red, if you want.”

“Hey! How come he’s allowed the red?” Tony asked, setting the book down on Peter’s tray. “I never get allowed to use the red.”

Peter giggled. “Red’s my very special favourite.”

“Wow,” Steve said and he found that he was genuinely honoured. “Your special favourite?”

“ _Very_ special favourite,” Peter said with a nod. “What’s yours?”

Steve paused to give some real thought to the question. “I like blue.”

“Daddy likes blue!”

Smiling at Peter’s excitement, Steve lifted a shoulder. “Well, it’s a lovely colour. How about you use my favourite and I use yours?”

Peter gasped. “That’s such a good idea! Daddy bought me a real good book. It’s got dinos!”

“Wow. Dinosaurs? That’s cool.” Steve lifted his gaze when he heard Tony snort.

“Cool,” Tony mouthed with lifted eyebrows. “Hip. Wack. _Groovy._ ”

Scowling, Steve turned back to Peter. “What’s your favourite dino?”

The look Peter gave him held far too much judgment for a young child, but it made Steve grin. Cheeky little thing.

“Triceratops. Obviously.”

“Hey, you.” Tony tapped Peter on the head and Peter craned his neck to look up at him. “Be nice to your new friend. Don’t be mean because he’s rubbish at dinosaurs.”

Peter giggled behind his hand, but gave Steve a contrite look. “I’m sorry, Steve. Want me to teach you about dinos?”

The flight wasn’t that long. They’d already made it through at least half of the journey by sleeping.

“Yeah,” Steve said instead of voicing that. He took the red crayon that Peter held out to him. “I’d love that.”

//

Peter’s fingers were tiny on Steve’s leg. They tapped out a wild rhythm even as his eyes slipped closed, fighting sleep. Steve found that he couldn’t look away from the way Peter’s head drooped onto Tony’s stomach, how his curls fell onto his forehead with the movement. 

What was really fucking Steve up was the way that Tony was with Peter. Obviously he would be paternal and loving, but it smacked Steve in the face. Why did it matter to him if someone was a good dad or not? Why did he get affected by a stranger being sweet with a child that he had no connection to?

“He’s always cutest when he’s asleep.”

Steve looked up with Tony with a soft smile. “You don’t mean that.”

“Pretty sure I do,” Tony said, his hand running through Peter’s hair. “He’s a terror.”

“He’s lovely.”

“Well, yeah. You’ll have no argument from me on that,” Tony said softly. 

They fell quiet. There was a lot that Steve wanted to say, a million thoughts running through his mind. 

“He likes you.”

Steve smiled, but he knew it didn’t quite reach his eyes. That was twice he’d been told that. “He’s a good kid.”

“He’s the best. But he doesn’t always do well with new people. He gets shy.”

“Me, too,” Steve admitted. That was partly the reason he’d had no luck with _Tinder._ People and him weren’t always a great combination. “It’s horrible.”

“Which is why it’s so good for me to see him warm up to someone. You were great with him. Thank you.”

The air suddenly felt thick. “Don’t,” Steve started to say, stumbling over himself. “I just did what anyone would do.” Wouldn’t they?

Tony snorted. The sound made Peter move in his sleep, his small nose crinkling. “Hardly.”

“Tony–” Steve didn’t know exactly where that had been going, but he had to say something.

“It’s fine,” Tony said, waving a hand. The way his gaze dropped to Peter and his mouth turned down told another story, but Steve didn’t push. “He’s all I need.”

No one was on a dating app unless they weren’t entirely happy. Though it wasn’t something Steve loved to be doing, he could admit that he needed to be on an app if he wanted a partner. 

And he wanted a partner. He was tired of being alone, of going home to an empty house. 

“What grade–”

“So, how was – wait,” Tony cut off with a frown. “What grade is who in?”

It was Steve’s turn to frown. “Peter, obviously. Unless you have another child somewhere.”

A small laugh left Tony. “No. Only one. He’s more than enough for me. I didn’t… people don’t normally ask.”

“Well.” Steve swallowed. Should he not have asked? Was that rude? He couldn’t tell a toddler from a seven-year-old most of the time, but who knew if that was offensive to parents. “I did.”

Tony smiled. “Yeah, you did, didn’t you? He’s not in a grade, yet.”

“Oh.” Kids were confusing. Peter spoke extremely well for someone who didn’t go to school. “He’s smart.” 

“In the genes,” Tony said, a smug curve to his lips. “Raising the next Einstein.”

Steve was pretty sure all parents said that. Smiling anyway, Steve settled back into his chair. “Congratulations.” 

//

By the time the credits rolled, Steve’s eyelids were drooping and his head was nodding. Though the movie reviews had made the film seem entertaining enough for Steve to have chosen it, his actual plan had been to nap for most of it. That hadn’t happened, though, as the vast majority of Steve’s attention had been taken by Tony and he’d found he couldn’t look away. Every few minutes he’d let his eyes sweep over to Tony, working away beside him with his eyes glued to his tablet. 

At some point, Peter had shuffled into Tony’s lap completely, the little boy lost again to a heavy sleep. With his hands clutching Philip to his chest and his head buried in Tony’s sweater, he was the picture of innocence. Tony was holding him to his body easily and Steve felt his stomach swoop, mouth suddenly dry. 

As if feeling Steve’s gaze, Tony looked up. There was a slight furrow to his brow. “Good film?”

Honestly, Steve couldn’t have recited the plot if there had been money riding on it. “Yeah, Great. You should watch it – if you get the chance, you know? If Peter… I don’t think it was kid-friendly, but, you – yeah. Was good.” Why couldn’t Steve stop talking?

With every word, Tony’s eyebrows lifted higher. “Right,” he said slowly. A small smile started to creep onto his face. “Thanks for the recommendation.”

Steve flushed and looked back to the small TV screen where names were still rolling. He felt a little awkward, as though he should have gone back to his assigned seat. Right up until he’d finally succumbed to more sleep, Peter had had a hand on Steve’s leg and, despite the boy not knowing if he was still there or not, Steve felt a strange sort of loyalty to stay right where Peter had asked him to be.

“Hey,” Tony said and Steve looked back at him, only to see that he was speaking to Peter. His eyes were trained on the boy and his tone extremely soft. “Come on, buddy. Time to wake up.”

For his troubles, Tony got a stuffed bear to the face and he laughed. “You gotta wake up, kid. We’re going to land soon.” 

He got another soft smack and, obviously sensing a losing battle, Tony shrugged and leant back against his seat, waiting to let Peter wake himself up. 

“Not having it?”

Tony met Steve’s smile. “We have the battle often, on a plane or at home. I’d say I win around 50 per cent of the time.”

“Really?”

“No.” Tony laughed. “But it’s nice to dream. He’s definitely the boss.”

“A cute boss.”

“Oh, yeah. No denying that.”

A tiny smile crept onto Peter’s face and Steve bit down on his own grin. The kid was smart. Very smart.

“That’s a shame,” Steve said, winking at Tony. “I was thinking of getting some breakfast when we’ve landed. It’s still breakfast time, right?”

Tony’s face did something complicated before he answered. “I’d say so. Isn’t it always breakfast time?”

“That’s true. _Such_ a shame Peter isn’t awake, though.”

“I am!”

Steve gasped dramatically when Peter suddenly shot up in Tony’s lap and reached out for him. “You are?”

“Yeah.” Peter grabbed at Steve’s hands, fingers curling around Steve’s and tugging lightly. “I wan’ brekkie.”

Tony laughed. “Colour me unsurprised.”

“What do you want?”

Eyes widening at Steve’s question, Peter squeezed Steve’s hands again. “Pancakes. Do they have pancakes?”

Steve laughed and Steve’s Peter’s hand back. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure the place I’m thinking of does pancakes.”

“Can we go, Daddy?” Peter asked, looking over his shoulder hopefully. “Please?”

Before he answered, Tony looked up at Steve. His gaze was calculating and Steve felt as though he was being tested somehow. “If Steve’s sure,” Tony said eventually, eyes still guarded but with a smile finally creeping onto his face. 

“I am. I really am.”

//

“Will he be okay?”

Tony looked over at Steve with a furrowed brow. “Hm?”

“Peter,” Steve clarified. “Will the time difference mess him up?”

“Oh. No, he’ll be fine, thank you. It’s only me who ever gets affected. As long as we stick to Peter’s regular mealtimes and let him sleep for long car rides and things, he’s fine.”

Steve nodded. They’d had a pilot’s announcement that they weren’t far out of the airport and Steve really wasn’t sure he was ready to let the Starks go. After his small bribe to wake Peter up with the promise of breakfast, the boy had fallen back to sleep against Tony’s chest and Steve couldn’t take his eyes off him.

“As soon as he smells those pancakes, he’ll be wide awake,” Tony said with a grin. It faltered a little and he cocked his head. “If you were serious, that is.”

“Of course I was,” Steve answered immediately. Who would promise a child a treat and then never deliver? Even with his lack of experience around children, he knew that was wrong. 

“Just checking,” Tony said, shrugging lightly. “It wouldn’t be the first time someone has backed out.”

“Well,” Steve said, feeling himself frown, “I’m not backing out. I like pancakes.”

Tony’s face broke into a grin again and Steve couldn’t help but return it, feeling an awful lot like he’d won something special. 

“It’s not all cuteness and sleepy reading times,” Tony said. “It’s hard and exhausting and he moans and cries like you wouldn’t believe. Stinks, too. And he’s messy. Oh, God, is he messy.”

“I – he’s a kid.” Steve wasn’t a complete idiot. Hell, that was half the reason he didn’t like kids in the first place. But surely, there were good times? Someone must have thought that the benefits outweighed the bad things. Tony certainly did. And Steve, with a weird sort of warmth in his stomach, – a hint of nausea, too – thought that he could see why. “That comes with the territory, surely?”

Tony laughed. “I guess so. Just thought I’d warn you.”

“Consider me warned.”

Suddenly, Steve reached out and drew a line across Peter’s forehead. Peter’s nose scrunched and he frowned in a way that made Steve lose his train of thought for a moment before Tony made a soft noise of confusion. 

“What was that?”

“That was me,” Steve said, words carefully thought out, if a little hesitant, “swiping right. If you’ll still have me. I’m swiping right on both of you.”

**Author's Note:**

> I have a [tumblr!](https://s-horne.tumblr.com/)
> 
> Oh, also, I have no idea where they're flying to or from or how long this imaginary flight is mean to be! Peter is talking about Atlanta and the aquarium there.


End file.
